ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

MUSIC

The Playlist That Will Take You A Full Week To Hear

Really, it’s a musical installation, with speakers set up as far from each other as possible in a living room. “The idea is to encourage 'an increased awareness of one’s presence in space — architectural, communal and individual.’” - Washington Post

Charlie Fishman, Music Promoter Who Died This Week, Made DC A Better Jazz Town

Fishman “was sitting in a restaurant in Adams Morgan one night in 2003 with his wife, attorney Stephanie Richards, when they grabbed a napkin and pen to outline his vision for a jazz festival in the nation’s capital.” - Washington Post (MSN)

How Mason Bates Turned Michael Chabon’s Most Famous Novel Into An Opera

He did it without Chabon, for starters: while the author happily gave rights to The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, opera is simply "not his thing." So Bates and librettist Gene Scheer set about adapting the Pulitzer-winning novel — and the result will open the Met's season next fall. - AP

New Music Streaming Service Based On Video Games Finds An Audience

It's called Nintendo Music — and on it, you can listen to dozens of hours of music from games like Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong. The app has had more than a million downloads since it launched on Oct. 30. - NPR

Can Spotify’s AI-DJs Make You Listen Longer?

Spotify has millions of listeners, and a staff of real human beings couldn't voice contextual recommendations for each one of them. But AI can. - NPR

Festival Attendance Might Be Down, But Glastonbury Sells Out In 30 Minutes

Fans were "randomly assigned a place in a queue" rather than having to refresh the holding page when the tickets went live. - BBC

Metropolitan Opera Names Daniele Rustioni Principal Guest Conductor

The 41-year-old Italian maestro, currently principal conductor at the Opéra national de Lyon in France, will conduct at least two Met productions per season, starting in 2025-26. He will be only the third principal guest conductor in the company's 141-year history, - AP

Pacific Symphony Picks A New Music Director

The 45-year-old Englishman enjoys a substantial social media following; he’s a fan of multidisciplinary performances combining music with other art forms; he’s passionately devoted to developing new audiences through music education, outdoor concerts and community initiatives. - CultureOC

Pitchfork Festival Abruptly Pulls Out Of Chicago

New York–based media giant Condé Nast, which owns Pitchfork Media, the longtime online music criticism website, broke the news on Instagram Monday that the festival would no longer take place in Chicago, where it originated 19 years ago. Condé Nast did not explain the decision. - WBEZ

At Age 80, Soprano Lucy Shelton Finds Herself With An Opera Career

For decades she has been one of America's leading singers of avant-garde classical music, premiering dozens of pieces by composers from Elliott Carter to Oliver Knussen. But, until recently, she's worked almost entirely on the concert stage. Now she has opera composers writing roles for her. - The New York Times

A Stroke Disabled Randy Travis From Singing. Now AI Is Helping Him Sing Again

AI gets so close to replicating Travis’s voice that it has, in a sense, brought him back as a full recording artist. The music industry’s reaction to AI is like that of many other industries: impressive new friend or creativity-destroying foe? In Travis’s case, it provided a glimmer of hope. - Variety (MSN)

How Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony’s Musicians Saved Their Bankrupt Orchestra

"They got in touch with its foundation and creditors, and built a new board. ... The newly-formed team of directors and musicians spent months trying to find a way to resuscitate the southern Ontario symphony. And in October, they pulled it off." - The Globe and Mail (Canada)

Sticker Shock: Renovation Of Stuttgart’s Opera House Could Cost €2 Billion

The renovation and expansion of the venue will take four years longer than originally planned, and the cost, originally projected at under €1 billion, will soar and could double. Critics of the project are now calling for alternatives, saying that even a new building would be less expensive. - Pizzicato

The Bells Of Notre-Dame In Paris Are Reunited

"The bronze bells of the Notre-Dame Cathedral have not pealed together since 2019, when a furious blaze consumed the centuries-old landmark right before the eyes of horrified Parisians. For Paris on Friday, they tolled once again." - The New York Times

Youngstown (Ohio) Symphony Music Director Suddenly Quits After Only Four Months

According to a press release, Sergey Bogza has resigned due to “personal, health and family reasons.” - WKBN

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